The increasing availability of large amounts of complex data requires development of methods that would allow a user to deal effectively with the available information. A common problem faced by the user is information overload. Graphical depictions of computer-generated data aid users in their analysis and understanding of data. Graphical representation of data provides also an insight into important characteristics of the data.
However, when illustrating these data characteristics, many of graphical display methods of the prior art introduce data clutter into the graphical data displays. As a result, a demand exists for a computer display technique applicable to a very wide range of fields that would be intuitive and clutter-free.
An important issue associated with computer based graphical systems exists regarding the necessity of carefully managing the display screen space. Since it is difficult to display plurality of values and the relationships these values have towards each other in a limited display space, it is of paramount importance to design a display system that would efficiently use this valuable resource. Additionally, the underlying data tends to be comprehensive and complex. In many systems, simple additions or changes to data require extensive and time-consuming navigation and editing of data across a multitude of display screens; a visual inspection of the data requires as well, the same navigation of multiple display screens. Many types of software applications can display data in charts with multiple bars, however, they do not provide an intuitive overview of data from a single view.
Accordingly, there is a need for an easy-to-use display system with an intuitive graphical interface that overcomes the many drawbacks of the prior existing methods and systems.